Pneumatic tube system substation terminal box construction

ABSTRACT

A terminal box construction for pneumatic tube systems having a box-like housing which is formed with at least one open side and is divided into send and receive chambers by an insert partition. Send and receive pneumatic tube openings are formed in the housing and communicate with the respective chambers. A door is pivotally mounted on the open side of the housing to provide access into both chambers. A curved carrier directing member is located within the receive chamber communicating with the receive tube opening for deflecting a carrier upon entering the chamber.

United States Patent Terrell [451 Sept. 5, 1972 [541 PNEUMATIC TUBE SYSTEM SUBSTATION TERMINAL BOX CONSTRUCTION William H. Terrell, Akron, Ohio Diebold Incorporated,

[72] Inventor:

[73] Assignee:

[22] Filed:

[21] Appl. No.:

[52] US. Cl ..243/24, 243/19 [51] Int. Cl ..B65g 51/30 [58] Field of Search ..243/19, 24

July 28, 1970 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Emerson ..243/19 Bostedo ..243/19 Cowley ..243/ 24 Jennings ..243/19 3,365,146 1/1968 Freeman ..243/19 X 1,769,676 7/1930 Cowley ..243/19 Primary Examiner-Evon C. Blunk Assistant ExaminerMerle F. Maffei Att0rneyFrease & Bishop [57 ABSTRACT A terminal box construction for pneumatic tube systems having a box-like housing which is formed with at least one open side and is divided into send and receive chambers by an insert partition. Send and receive pneumatic tube openings are formed in the housing and communicate with the respective chambers. A door is pivotally mounted on the open side of the housing to provide access into both chambers. A curved carrier directing member is located within the receive chamber communicating with the receive tube opening for deflecting a carrier uponentering the chamber.

2 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTEDSEP 51972 3.689.009

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William/H T a T umms PATENTEDSEP 5 I972 SHEET 3 BF 3 W lli/ a PNEUMATIC TUBE SYSTEM SUBSTATION TERMINAL BOX CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to pneumatic tube systems and particularly to terminal box constructions for such systems. More particularly the invention relates to a substation terminal box construction which may be placed at various locations or stations of a multiple station system, such as at desks of customer contact personal in a brokerage office for conveying orders and the like to and from a central office or station. The substation terminal box may be installed in a variety of positions connected with pneumatic tube system inlet and outlet tubes entering from above, below or at a side, and has partition and baffle insert means adjustable to the installed position.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many types of terminal boxes are used in pneumatic tube systems depending upon the requirement of the particular business in which they are used, the material which they convey between terminals, and the positions at which the terminal boxes are installed in relation to the location of the pneumatic tubes and to the convenience of a person or persons using such terminal boxes.

Such terminal boxes frequently are used in a twotube system having a send tube and a receive tube connected with such terminal. Prior terminal boxes have been large and unsightly because of forming separate send and receive chambers within the box for the two tubes and of providing access means for each chamber. Likewise, a different terminal box structure had to be constructed for different installation requirements, depending upon the location of the tubes in the room or office, and the position of the users in relation to the chamber doors.

A different terminal box is required when the tubes enter the top of the box than for installations where the tubes enter the bottom of the box. Also access into the chamber may be possible from only one direction, resulting in many inconvenient arrangements for the user. Also, additional space is required either separately or within the terminal box for storing multiple pneumatic tube carriers used in the system. Maintenance and repair of such prior terminal boxes has been difficult and frequent because of complicated constructions and numerous inaccessible moving parts.

A need thus has existed for an inexpensive compact pneumatic tube system substation terminal box construction having a pleasing appearance compatible with modern office equipment, which is adaptable for installation in a variety of positions without regard to the incoming direction of connected pneumatic tubes, which provides a single means of access to both send and receive chambers, permits ease of repair and servicing, and which enables access to both chambers from either or both sides of the terminal box.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Objectives of the invention include providing a pneumatic tube system substation terminal box construction compact in size and having a pleasing appearance; providing a terminal box construction having a housing and insert partition and baffle means which forms send and receive chambers and which box can be mounted in various positions regardless of the particular location of the connected pneumatic tubes while at the same time providing convenient access to the chambers by users; providing a terminal box construction having a single access door for both the send and receive chamber; providing a terminal box construction in which a door may be mounted on either or both sides of the box for access to the chambers; providing a terminal box construction in which electrical indicator lights and switch components may be installed without otherwise altering the terminal construction; and providing a terminal box of simple construction which achieves the stated objects in a simple, effective and inexpensive manner, and which solves problems and satisfies needs existing in the art.

These and other objectives and advantages may be obtained by the substation terminal box construction, the general nature of which may be stated as including an outer box-like housing adapted to be mounted on a desk or platform, or recess mounted in a vertical wall or horizontal desk top; the housing having top, bottom, end and side walls, and at least an opening formed in one of the housing side walls; send and receive tube openings formed in said housing for communication with pneumatic system send and receive tubes; an insert partition removably mounted in said housing forming send and receive chambers with said housing walls; the send tube opening communicating with said send chamber and the receive tube opening communicating with said receive chamber; means securing said insert partition in said housing; a curved carrier directing member mounted within the receive chamber and aligned with the receive tube opening whereby a pneumatic tube carrier entering the receive chamber contacts said directing member and is deflected toward a housing end wall; door means for the housing side wall opening; pivot means mounting one end of the door means on the housing for opening and closing movements; and sealing means engaged with the door means when the door means is closed providing a substantially airtight housing whereby carriers placed in the send chamber send tube opening may be conveyed to a central terminal box when the pneumatic tube system is operating under vacuum, and whereby carriers are conveyed under such system vacuum operation into the receive chamber through the receive tube opening from such central terminal box when the door means is closed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention illustrative of the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles is set forth in the following description and shown in the drawings, and is particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a pneumatic tube system in which the improved substation terminal box may be used;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the substation terminal box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the lower portion of the terminal box housing;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of the terminal box insert;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5, FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6, FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 77, FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 8 8, FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 9- 9, FIG. 6;

FIGS. 10 through 13 are diagrammatic views showing several alternate terminal box arrangements and mounting positions.

' Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A typical pneumatic tube system for transacting brokerage operations is illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 1 and includes a central station indicated at 1 which may have a number of individual central station terminal boxes 2, each one connected with its substation equipped with the improved substation terminal box 3. Each pair of terminal boxes 2 and 3 is connected by a pneumatic send tube 4 and a receive tube 5.

Box 3, shown mounted on a horizontal platform or desk top D (FIG. 2), includes a box-like housing 6 having a top wall 7, end walls 8, a bottom wall 9, and open side walls 10 and 11 having recessed trim flanges 12 forming side openings 10a and 11a. Bottom wall 9 is formed with send opening 13 and receive opening 14. Short tube sections 15 are secured as by tack welds 16 with openings 13 and 14. Tube sections 15 are connected with the pneumatic system send and receive tubes 4 and 5 and are sealed around openings 13 and 14 with sealing compound 17 to provide an airtight seal.

An inset partition 18 (FIG. 4) includes a bottom plate 19, an end wall 20, and a U-shaped channel 21 extending vertically upward from and laterally across bottom plate 19, intermediatethe ends of plate 19. Channel 21 has a web wall 22 and two leg members 23 extending outward away from partition end wall 20. Leg members 23 are formed with spaced top holes 24. A horizontal channel 25 extends between the top of end wall 20 and the top of web wall 22 to mechanically strengthen partition 18. Plate 19 is formed with an opening 26 located adjacent web wall 22 within channel 21 and an opening 27 between web wall 22 and end wall 20. A bell tube 28 is attached to plate 19, preferably by welds l6, and surrounds opening 27. A small slot 29 is formed in the lower end of the tube 28 adjacent plate 19. Brackets 30 and 31 may be attached to end wall 20 and web wall 22, respectively, for mounting electrical relays and switches when desired.

Partition 18 is removably mounted within housing 6 and may be retained therein by engagement of front edge 32 of bottom plate 19 beneath a Z-clamp 33 and by nuts 34a threaded on stud bolts 34 attached to bottom wall 9 and extending upward through holes 35 in plate 19. When partition 18 is mounted within housing 6, web wall 22 divides housing 6 into a receive chamber 36 and a send chamber 37, with plate openings 26 and 27 coinciding with receive opening 14 and send opening 13, respectively, of bottom wall 9.

A curved baffle 38 is attached to plate 19 and web wall 22 preferably by welds 16a and 16b and projects upward and extends into receive chamber 36. Baflle 38 has a reversely bent top flange 39 providing a safe, rounded edge. A bracket 40 may be attached near the top edge of baffle 38 adjacent an elongated slot 41 formed therein, for mounting an electrical switch when desired. 1

A rectangular panel 42 and a sealing gasket 43 are mounted abutting trim flange 12 providing an airtight closure for side opening 11a. Gasket 43 may cover the entire inner surface of panel 42 as well as the area contacting flange 12 to provide padding and a sounddeadening effect for housing 6. Panel 42 and gasket 43 preferably are bolted at 44 to flange 12 (FIG. 9).

A frame 45 and gasket 46 are mounted abutting trim flange 12 of side opening 10a by bolts 44a. The inner edge of gasket 46 (FIG. 8) terminates in an outwardly projecting U-shaped flange 47 which covers the inner edge of frame 45.

Bars 48 project outward from the top comers of frame 45 and are provided with elongated slots 49. A door 50, formed preferably of tinted plexiglass material which may have decorative grooves 51 formed therein, closes side opening 10a and provides access to charmbers 36 and 37. The upper end of door 50 clamps a hinge pin 54 the ends 52 of which project beyond the ends of door 50 and float or are loosely engaged in slots 49, providing for pivotal opening and closing movement of door 50. The pin 54 has enlarged heads 53 at its ends 52 to maintain the door assembled to housing 6.

The lower edge of door 50 may terminate in an outward-extending flange 55 providing gripping means for opening door 50 to gain access to chambers 36 and 37 Door 50 will close by gravity and find its seat, sealed against gasket flange 47, due to the floating mounting of pin ends 52 in slots 49.

Terminal box 3 is maintained under vacuum when the pneumatic tube system is functioning and, therefore, should be airtight. A carrier may be launched in send tube 4 by opening door 50 and inserting a carrier into bell tube 28. A carrier entering receive chamber 36 through receive tube 5 is deflected by baffle 38 into a curved path causing the carrier to lose considerable momentum before striking housing end wall 8 and dropping down onto bottom wall 9 and plate 19 where the carrier can be removed easily by opening door 50.

Electrical signaling means (not shown) may be easily mounted in terminal box 3 without requiring manufacturing modifications or structural changes even after the terminal box has been installed and in operation. Signal lights indicating carrier travel may be mounted in holes 24, and control switches mounted on brackets 31 and 40.

Important advantages of improved substation terminal box 3 reside in the ability to be installed in a variety of positions and in providing for access to chambers 36 and 37 through a door 50 mounted on either or both sides of the box.

Although box 3 is illustrated and described as having a closure panel 42 for open side 11 and a frame 45 with door 50 closing open side 10, these components can be reversed easily to locate door 50 closing open side 11 and panel 42 or another door 50 closing open side 10 due to the symmetry of housing 6 and trim flanges 12.

Likewise, pneumatic tubes 4 and 5, although illustrated as entering housing 6 in an upward direction at the bottom of box 3, may enter easily in a downward direction from the top of box 3, as shown by dot-dash lines in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12. The particular construction of partition 18 and baffle 38 permits such mounting. Housing 6, after installation of partition 18 and baffle 38, merely is turned upside down with tube sections connected with openings 13 and 14 extending vertically upward from housing 6 for connection to pneumatic tubes 4 and 5. A panel 42, or a frame 45 and a door 50, is installed abutting trim flange 12, and door 50 is pivotally connected at its upper end so as to close .by gravity.

A carrier entering receive chamber 36 from above is still directed by baffle 38 toward end wall 8. Likewise, to send a carrier, door 50 is opened and a carrier is merely inserted upward into bell tube 28. Thus, mere turning an assembled housing 6 and partition 18 upside down permits connections to be made to downwardly directed pneumatic tubes 4 and 5 without any rearrangement or modification of terminal components.

Accordingly, terminal box 3 may be mounted on a horizontal platform or desk top D (FIG. 10) with access to housing 6 from either or both sides and with pneumatic tubes entering box 3 from above or below.

Likewise, terminal box 3 may be recess mounted in a wall W with access from one side only (FIG. 11); or recess mounted in a partition wall P with access from both sides (FIG. 12), and pneumatic tubes entering box 3 from above or below.

Another mounting position is shown in FIG. 13 in which terminal box 3 is flush in a desk top D and turned on its side so that door 50 may be opened from any direction. Tubes 4 and 5 may enter box 3 from a desired direction.

The improved substation terminal box construction 3 has a number of additional advantages. Housing 6, partition l8, baffle 38 and the various brackets are easily and inexpensively stamped and formed from sheet metal and then rigidly assembled to provide sturdy and durable construction.

The receive chamber 36 is sufficiently large to permit several carriers to be received and stored before removal of a carrier becomes necessary. Likewise, extra carriers can be stored conveniently within chamber 36 until needed.

Door 50 may be formed from tinted plexiglass material so that the interior of both chambers may be seen without opening the door. This permits visual signal lights to be used within housing 6 if desired.

Likewise, tinted material provides an attractive appearance compatible with modern office decor. The slots 49 pivotally mounting door 50 allows the door to float and seek its own position under the vacuum operation of the system when closing against gasket flange 47 in an airtight manner as shown by dot-dash lines, FIG. 8. Also, door 50 provides access readily to both the send and receive chambers, eliminating duplication of access doors.

Another advantage is the easy removability of partition 18 from within housing 6 by removal of nuts 34a from stud bolts 34, permitting any repairs, maintenance or the installation of electrical signal means to be easily performed. The symmetrical appearance of housing 6 and the flexibility of pneumatic tube connections provide compatible appearance between a number of terminal boxes 3, whether the tubes enter housing 6 from above or below.

Accordingly, the new substation terminal box construction is simplified, provides an effective, inexpensive, eflicient and flexible construction for sending and receiving pneumatic carriers from remote terminal stations to a central terminal station, provides a terminal box achieving all the enumerated objectives, provides for eliminating difficulties encountered with prior constructions and solves problems and obtains new results in the art.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding; but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.

Having now described the features, discoveries, and principles of the invention, the manner in which the pneumatic tube system substation terminal box construction is constructed and used, the characteristics of the new construction, and the advantageous, new and useful results obtained; the new and useful structures, devices, elements, arrangements, parts, and combinations, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Pneumatic tube system substation terminal box construction including an outer box-like housing having top, bottom, end and side walls, an opening formed in at least one of the housing side walls; send and receive tube openings formed in the housing for communication with pneumatic system send and receive tubes; partition means removably mounted in said housing forming send and receive chambers with said housing walls; the partition means including a plate, a partition wall extending from said plate; an end wall extending from said plate, parallel to and spaced from said partition wall, and reinforcing means spaced from the plate and connecting said end and partition walls; said partition wall being a U-shaped channel having a web wall and two leg members extending outward from the ends of the web wall; the send tube opening communicating with said send chamber and the receive tube opening communicating with said receive chamber; said side wall opening providing access to the send and receive chambers; a curved carrier-directing member mounted within the receive chamber and aligned with the receive tube opening whereby a pneu matic tube carrier entering the receive chamber contacts said directing member and is deflected toward a housing end wall; and door means for said side wall opening; whereby carriers placed in the send chamber 4 and send tube opening may be conveyed away from the send chamber when the pneumatic tube system is operating under vacuum, and whereby carriers may be conveyed under such system vacuum operation to the receive chamber through the receive tube opening when the door means is closed.

2. The construction defined in claim 1 in which the channel leg members are formed with a plurality of spaced holes. 

1. Pneumatic tube system substation terminal box construction including an outer box-like housing having top, bottom, end and side walls, an opening formed in at least one of the housing side walls; send and receive tube openings formed in the housing for communication with pneumatic system send and receive tubes; partition means removably mounted in said housing forming send and receive chambers with said housing walls; the partition means including a plate, a partition wall extending from said plate; an end wall extending from said plate, parallel to and spaced from said partition wall, and reinforcing means spaced from the plate and connecting said end and partition walls; said partition wall being a U-shaped channel having a web wall and two leg members extending outward from the ends of the web wall; the send tube opening communicating with said send chamber and the receive tube opening communicating with said receive chamber; said side wall opening providing access to the send and receive chambers; a curved carrier-directing member mounted within the receive chamber and aligned with the receive tube opening whereby a pneumatic tube carrier entering the receive chamber contacts said directing member and is deflected toward a housing end wall; and door means for saiD side wall opening; whereby carriers placed in the send chamber and send tube opening may be conveyed away from the send chamber when the pneumatic tube system is operating under vacuum, and whereby carriers may be conveyed under such system vacuum operation to the receive chamber through the receive tube opening when the door means is closed.
 2. The construction defined in claim 1 in which the channel leg members are formed with a plurality of spaced holes. 